This claims priority to German Patent Application No. 200 00 477 U1 filed Jan. 13, 2000 and hereby Incorporated by reference in its entirety.
This invention is for a suspension system for bedding or seating units, and more particularly for a coupled waveband suspension system for bedding underframes, mattresses, seating products and upholstery, which makes possible an interactive coupling of individual support elements for such units.
A wide variety of beds, underframes, support systems and seating products have been made commercially available. One type of such product is a standard metal bed base or spring base which includes a perimeter frame to which a metal mesh, usually of spring steel, is fixed for elastically supporting the mattress. The structure remains taut within the frame and gives a firm rigid base to a mattress supported thereon. However, such a bed base or foundation unit has certain disadvantages in that over time the structural elasticity of the metal mesh decreases considerably. As a result, the base sinks or sags similar to a hammock with the resulting unnatural or uncomfortable positioning of someone or on top thereof.
Another type of bedding support or foundation underframe includes a number of rigid planks or boards spanning across a perimeter frame which is also typically wooden panels. This type of construction is commonly referred to as a box spring and the wooden frame unit prevents the typical sinking of the metal mesh base as previously described. However, this type of unit does not adapt to the various shapes of individual users and offers poor ventilation or transpiration.
Another common variation is an elastic slatted bed base which includes a plurality of slats positioned transversely on a frame and coupled to the frame by elastic joints. The slats are elastic and upwardly curved to support a load such as someone lying atop as a mattress or a foundation unit. Such systems typically offer adequate adaptability to the natural curves of the human spine and torso and provide appropriate support for heavier parts of the human body such as the shoulders and hips region as well as lighter regions of the body such as the head, arms and lower legs. However, these type of individual slat or lath units only react passively to the stresses of a distended body and are primarily influenced by the weight of the human body. The slats or laths are not self adjusting to provide adequate support and comfort.
Finally, waterbeds or mattresses are well-known and consist essentially of a container or multiple containers of impermeable material containing water or other fluid. Waterbeds or mattresses adapt well to the anatomy of a distended body but do not adequately support the vertebral column.
Compared to the state of the art, the task of the present invention is to achieve an interactive, forced coupling of multiple support elements in bed underframes, mattresses, seating units and the like while providing a positive suspension stroke of the support elements and associated segments under less pressure. Further, the load supporting elements preferably offer a total stroke of the order of the construction height of the suspended support elements while yielding a relatively low lateral shearing force to the support elements and associated structure. Optimally, all of these objectives would be utilized in bed underframes, mattresses, seating products and upholstery, with simple materials and construction.
The solution of this task is achieved with waveband-suspended support elements as shown and described in representative embodiments in the figures and following detailed description and is based on the following construction characteristics:
Wavebands of an elastically flexible material are used which run parallel and/or transversely to the side spars of a bed underframe or to the longitudinal axis of a mattress for the basic suspension and the simultaneous coupling of the elements;
The endcaps or respectively the support elements ride or sit affixed upon the crests or maxima of the sinusoidal waveband, or are moveable with roll bearings or, alternatively, are manufactured of the same material;
The troughs or minima of the band slide, roll or otherwise move relative to bearing elements which divide the waveband into dynamically coupled segments;
When pressure load is applied to such a unit, individual support elements or segments and simultaneously a shift of parts of the waveband to neighboring segments causes a positive stroke of the loaded support elements. Hereby a total stroke h of the order of the construction height H of the waveband plus support elements is attained;
The high degree of comfort obtained from the waveband suspension system makes the use of simple constructions of the complementary counterpart, bed underframe or mattress, possible.
By joining all the individual elements which are sitting upon or are affixed to the maxima of a sinusoidal, elastically flexible waveband, a comparably large positive stroke of less pressure loaded waveband segments is caused in addition to the usual springy suspension stroke in a negative direction.
The current state of the art is described in the European Patent EP 0 793 432. Many different endcaps as well as individual support elements are listed and itemized in EP 0 793 432. The Triflex endcaps described there have been diversified and have found application in individual support elements, Rotaflex, and in mattress cores in the German Registered Design 299 02 965.4 and in the German Patent application 100 07 296.8.
In European Patent EP 0 793 432 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,149 an interactive coupling of the Triflex endcaps by means of a flexible band is described which, however, allows no positive stroke.
In the PCT Application WO99/47027, a multilayer slatted frame for seats and beds is described which comprises straight and curved cross slats (out of formed wood) running solely laterally to the bed axis. These slats are held in woven loops and can be supported by elastic bodies of different heights made of foam material or fluid (air, water or gel) filled covers. These bodies sit between the curved and the straight cross slats or longitudinal spars.
The curved cross slats have the form of a normal or a twice curved bow and the ends of which as well as the one or two tops are held in place by superimposed woven loops upon the lower straight cross slats or longitudinal spars or they support the upper straight cross slats, respectively. This offers a deformable sandwich construction.
The PCT Application WO99/47027 does not disclose minima of the curved cross slats, or of any other kind, that move, glide, slide or roll on bearings, flat products, or the like. Those bow-shaped curved cross slats have only two minima at their outer ends in contact with and held in woven loops upon the lower straight cross slats or the longitudinal spars. The one or two maxima of the bow-shaped slats do not support and couple individual support elements, or flat products, nor endcaps of cross slats; nor is a perceptible positive adjustment stroke achieved.